JOHANNESBURG, South Africa - In the end, it was a split second and not a court's decision that kept Oscar Pistorius from competing in the Beijing Olympics.

The double-amputee sprinter was left off South Africa's 1,600-meter relay team Friday, ending his hopes of running in the Summer Games. Pistorius couldn't hit the 400-meter qualifying time of 45.55 seconds, despite running a personal best 46.25 on Wednesday at a meet in Lucerne, Switzerland.

Other disabled athletes have occasionally participated in the Olympics - legally blind runner Marla Runyan competed for the U.S. in Sydney eight years ago, for instance. Yet Pistorius' tenacity and a bitter argument over whether his prosthetic blades gave him an edge made his bid to run stand out.

Pistorius overcame the International Association of Athletics Federations in a long legal struggle. The Court of Arbitration finally ruled against the IAAF in May, saying the sprinter's carbon-fiber blades did not provide an unfair advantage against able-bodied athletes.

The 21-year-old Pistorius has said the court fight kept him from focusing on training, and acknowledged it might be more realistic to aim for the 2012 London Olympics. Athletics South Africa president Leonard Chuene said four other runners had faster times, and two others were chosen as alternates.

Pistorius plans to run at the Sept. 6-17 Paralympic Games in Beijing. He holds the Paralympic world record of 46.56 in the 400.

Efforts to reach Pistorius were not immediately successful. His manager, Peet Van Zyl, said considering Pistorius' recent times, he didn't expect the runner to be asked to join the team.

'From the beginning, we knew that he had to qualify,' Van Zyl said. 'We didn't expect him to be granted any special opportunity or anything. The rules are the rules.'

The International Olympic Committee said it was South Africa's decision to make.

'They pick the athletes who they think should go to the games,' IOC spokeswoman Emmanuelle Moreau said.

The IAAF said Thursday that it fully supported Pistorius' bid to run at the Olympics, despite comments made earlier this week by general secretary Pierre Weiss. He expressed concerns that the prosthetics could cause injury to other runners while jockeying for position.

The comments 'have no effect on the official eligibility of Oscar Pistorius, nor should they be misconstrued as a personal attack on Oscar,' the IAAF said in a statement.